Kili Babes summit today! – sendmeonmyway

Kili Babes summit today- Uhuru Peak here we come

We trudge Pole Pole , one behind the other, like chameleons. The path and rocks are illuminated by hundreds of head torches. The Kili glow worms are us. This scene would look incredible in an aerial shot. We pass Kosovo camp, which appeared to be fairly nearby during the day. Not that close at all! We start the steep ascent as soon as we pass this camp. An internal voice kept urging me to continue. Trish experienced a moment of dizziness, Sid’s shoes hurt, and he had painfully frozen toes. Some climbers were in excruciating pain and having trouble breathing! People’s breathing was audible to me, and Trish later told me that I was making funny breathing sounds too.

I ditched wearing the balaclava because my glasses started to mist due to my breadth, so my lips gradually turned blue. My bladder and water bottle were frozen, but I managed to sip a few sharp icicles.

We still had to reach Stella Point. I could see the head torches snaking up rising higher and higher, but there was no end. They were puncturing the sky, were they going to heaven or hell. I questioned a few times, ‘Where are they going?’ I didn’t get an answer, or maybe I did and I didn’t understand. I have heavy eyes, puffy and cracked lips, crusted and leaky nose, brittle, white, and frozen hair, and my feet feel like lead, but I keep moving forward! We weren’t even close, and it was only two in the morning. We have few ( 3 or 4) brief breaks when we could sit on a rock for just under a minute and sip some ice if posssible. If we sat any longer, we would become frozen. It was around -15, but it felt like -40!

We suddenly notice an orange glow that resembles a beam on the horizon sometime around 6:20 am. The sun is going to rise, says Simon. The beam spreads out further and farther, painting the sky in hues of red, orange, and yellow. Over Africa, the golden ball rises. The tiny semi-circular ball continues to grow.

Golden hues illuminate Mount Mawenzi. This peak is quickly draped in a golden glittering saree ! This magnificent sunrise, a natural phenomenon that occurs every day on Earth and the same sun that has been rising for millions of years, served as a symbol for hope, vitality, and life for me. The captivating and hypnotic power of this sun inspired me to keep going. Now that I look back, I regret not watching this magnificent display for a little longer. I continue to take my Pole Pole baby steps while staring at the sun.

The entire sky appeared to be covered in a confetti of poppy, marigold, and sunflower petals. I have never seen anything so magnificent. I felt fortunate! I felt blessed.

We turn off our head torches as dawn breaks and the rocks and peak above suddenly begin to glow. Our spirits lighten up a bit, and we become more focused. We get to Stella Point, but we still need to exert a little more effort to get to Uhuru. Here, we pause for a few minutes before moving on. Sid struggles here with his foot but we motivate him and tell him the only way he will feel upbeat is at Uhuru. Now that I could really feel the altitude, I was too exhausted to even speak or smile. We move together.

We only wanted to get to Uhuru. Charles advises us to keep going because once we cross that ridge, we will see a board. The Furtwangler Glacier is on our left, and Kibo Crater is on our right. It wasn’t far, but we were unable to accelerate. Each step was challenging. Sid and Emmanuel are by my side during the final stretch. The Uhuru Peak board is visible. I pause, look, and sob tears of joy, accomplishment, triumph, and gratitude for having reached the roof of Arica at 5895 meters at 8:45 in the morning. We suddenly feel better and it is sheer adrenaline that perks our spirits up!